2WayParadox
Sage
I came across this index when reading Joe Sugarman's 'Advertising secrets of the written word'.
This index takes the length of sentences and words into account and creates an index from them. 8 or lower means universal readability, 12 means high school level (18 yrs old). Any higher than 12 and we're getting into graduate level, scientific writing etc. And if you've ever read a bunch of scientific articles, you will know how exhausting those are. I can read dozens upon dozens of pages of proze, but scientific writing slows me right down.
I hadn't considered anything like this, writing was either understandable or cumbersome.
I don't think something like should be used as a guide to start tinkering with your prose, but it can be a clear indicator that your prose might scare off readers. About 12 is what a fiction should aim at in my opinion.
Gunning fog index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gunning Fog Index
PS: the index for the text above the links is 10.09, now ask yourself: is it bullshit?
This index takes the length of sentences and words into account and creates an index from them. 8 or lower means universal readability, 12 means high school level (18 yrs old). Any higher than 12 and we're getting into graduate level, scientific writing etc. And if you've ever read a bunch of scientific articles, you will know how exhausting those are. I can read dozens upon dozens of pages of proze, but scientific writing slows me right down.
I hadn't considered anything like this, writing was either understandable or cumbersome.
I don't think something like should be used as a guide to start tinkering with your prose, but it can be a clear indicator that your prose might scare off readers. About 12 is what a fiction should aim at in my opinion.
Gunning fog index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gunning Fog Index
PS: the index for the text above the links is 10.09, now ask yourself: is it bullshit?